Latest news with #WhiteGlo
News.com.au
24-05-2025
- News.com.au
‘Just wow': Anytime Fitness slammed over ad
A controversial ad posted by Anytime Fitness has been scrubbed from the internet after a mountain of negative feedback. The video, posted by Marrickville Anytime Fitness, showed a worker hiding behind the gym before leaping out at a passerby. The worker then pretends to 'knock out' the passerby with chloroform before dragging them into the venue and making them sign a membership contract while unconscious. 'When our boss tells us to sign up more members,' the video was captioned. The video was posted to the Marrickville Community group and quickly received dozens of negative comments. 'FYI drugging and kidnapping women is not a cute and acceptable marketing strategy,' one wrote. Another wrote: 'Seriously? Who thought a video showing a member of your team kidnapping someone off the street, doping them so they lose consciousness and then forging their signature for a monthly membership would be a good marketing idea.' The video remained up with the negative comments deleted before it was eventually taken down. 'Just wow. I am so speechless about how tone deaf the original post was but then how you've doubled down by refusing to remove it and deleting negative comments,' one commenter wrote. Anytime Fitness did not respond to multiple requests for comment by The faux pas comes just days after a popular teeth-whitening brand was forced to issue an apology for its latest advertising campaign. White Glo's new ad, emblazoned with the phrase 'Make the white choice', has been spotted on Melbourne trams and Sydney buses in recent days, quickly sparking a wave of backlash online. In a statement, White Glo said that while the ads were 'purely about teeth whitening, with no other intended meaning' they would be working to remove the ads due to the offence caused. 'Our ads feature the tagline 'Make the White Choice' which is intended to be a wordplay on 'Make the Right Choice', to highlight the effectiveness and reliability of our products, versus some less effective products we are seeing emerge in the market,' a statement read. 'Whilst this campaign was accepted by Australia's Advertising Regulator in April, the response in the last couple of days has indicated that we have missed the mark.'
Daily Mail
23-05-2025
- Business
- Daily Mail
Toothpaste brand apologises after backlash over 'white choice' ad
A popular teeth-whitening brand has been lashed for a 'tone-deaf' advertising campaign which some Aussies claim has racist connotations. White Glo's advertisements, spotted on buses, trams and trains in Melbourne and Sydney, feature the slogan 'Make the white choice'. Some viewers were offended by the phrase, which they claimed inferred 'white' was a more fashionable choice over 'black'. Communications strategist Kriti Gupta said the advertisements were 'not about what the brand meant, it's about how audiences read it'. 'Phrases like this aren't neutral. They come with baggage. The association of whiteness with purity, cleanliness, or correctness has been baked into advertising and media for decades and is often used to exclude or diminish anything that doesn't fit the white mainstream,' she told The company has been criticised for the ads online, with Aussies lashing the campaign as 'casually racist' and 'old fashioned'. 'White Glo, you may want to double check who's doing your marketing,' one person said in a video with almost 130,000 views. But other observers said they didn't see the problem with the ad. 'People are too sensitive. There is no hidden message, unless you want your teeth any colour except white,' one said. 'How does this even equate to racism? What am I missing?' a second asked. White Glo has apologised for the campaign, but insisted the ads were 'purely about teeth whitening, with no other intended meaning'. 'Our ads feature the tagline "Make the White Choice" which is intended to be a wordplay on "Make the Right Choice", to highlight the effectiveness and reliability of our products, versus some less effective products we are seeing emerge in the market,' a statement read. 'Whilst this campaign was accepted by Australia's Advertising Regulator in April, the response in the last couple of days has indicated that we have missed the mark.' White Glo Director Jeffrey Wong said the company was working to remove the ads, adding the company had a 'very multicultural staff and management team'. Daily Mail Australia has contacted White Glo for further comment.
Daily Mail
23-05-2025
- Health
- Daily Mail
Popular toothpaste brand White Glo issues grovelling apology after new ad campaign was lashed as 'tone deaf'
A popular teeth-whitening brand has been lashed for a 'tone-deaf' advertising campaign which some Aussies claim has racist connotations. White Glo's advertisements, spotted on buses, trams and trains in Melbourne and Sydney, feature the slogan 'Make the white choice'. Some viewers were offended by the phrase, which they claimed inferred 'white' was a more fashionable choice over 'black'. Communications strategist Kriti Gupta said the advertisements were 'not about what the brand meant, it's about how audiences read it'. 'Phrases like this aren't neutral. They come with baggage. The association of whiteness with purity, cleanliness, or correctness has been baked into advertising and media for decades and is often used to exclude or diminish anything that doesn't fit the white mainstream,' she told The company has been criticised for the ads online, with Aussies lashing the campaign as 'casually racist' and 'old fashioned'. 'White Glo, you may want to double check who's doing your marketing,' one person said in a video with almost 130,000 views. Melbourne-based activist Jeff Kissubi said the ads were out of touch. 'This is not only tone-deaf but very ignorant on the brand's part to miss the mark. In 2025, the lack of cultural awareness around these things is astonishing,' he said. 'Language shapes power and erases Indigenous, Black, and POC voices. Let's call out harmful messaging and demand accountability.' But other observers said they didn't see the problem with the ad. 'People are too sensitive. There is no hidden message, unless you want your teeth any colour except white,' one said. 'How does this even equate to racism? What am I missing?' a second asked. White Glo has apologised for the campaign, but insisted the ads were 'purely about teeth whitening, with no other intended meaning'. 'Our ads feature the tagline "Make the White Choice" which is intended to be a wordplay on "Make the Right Choice", to highlight the effectiveness and reliability of our products, versus some less effective products we are seeing emerge in the market,' a statement read. 'Whilst this campaign was accepted by Australia's Advertising Regulator in April, the response in the last couple of days has indicated that we have missed the mark.' White Glo Director Jeffrey Wong said the company was working to remove the ads, adding the company had a 'very multicultural staff and management team'.
News.com.au
22-05-2025
- Entertainment
- News.com.au
Popular toothpaste brand torched for ‘tone-deaf' campaign
A popular teeth-whitening brand's latest ad campaign has left the public completely stunned, with many questioning how such a 'tone-deaf' slogan ever made it onto the side of public transport. White Glo's new ad, emblazoned with the phrase 'Make the white choice', has been spotted on Melbourne trams and Sydney buses in recent days, quickly sparking a wave of backlash online. Communications strategist Kriti Gupta told that the campaign isn't just a clumsy misstep, it's deeply problematic. 'The slogan didn't just magically slip through the cracks. It passed through multiple layers of approvals – creative, client, media buying – and somehow no one flagged how racially loaded that phrase is? That's not a slip-up. That's a systemic blind spot,' she said. 'Intent doesn't cancel out impact' 'It's not about what the brand meant, it's about how audiences read it, and you can't control meaning once it's out in public. So when a slogan like this lands? Intent doesn't cancel out impact,' Ms Gupta continued. 'Phrases like this aren't neutral. They come with baggage. The association of whiteness with purity, cleanliness, or correctness has been baked into advertising and media for decades and is often used to exclude or diminish anything that doesn't fit the white mainstream. That's not an over-reaction. That's history.' Ms Gupta explained that whiteness has always been sold as 'aspirational' to consumers, from soap ads in the 1800s to toothpaste campaigns now. The difference is, people are now calling it out in real time, and that's exactly what's happened in recent days when the ad hit social media. Social media responds One TikTok user, whose video has already racked up more than 130,000 views, didn't hold back and said: 'White Glo, you may want to double-check who's doing your marketing'. Another person was in disbelief and said, 'Yeah, it's giving 'we really thought no one would think twice about it' energy'. Others called it 'casually racist' and 'old-fashioned'. Melbourne-based activist Jeff Kissubi echoed these thoughts and emphasised just how out of touch this messaging is. 'This is not only tone-deaf but very ignorant on the brand's part to miss the mark. In 2025, the lack of cultural awareness around these things is astonishing,' he said. 'Language shapes power and erases Indigenous, Black, and POC voices. Let's call out harmful messaging and demand accountability.' Could this be a publicity stunt? Meanwhile, some argued that this wasn't just an innocent copywriting decision, but a deliberate marketing stunt, with the brand knowing exactly what they were doing. 'Any publicity is good publicity I guess,' one person said on Reddit. 'It's been all over the internet. From a marketing perspective, it's somewhat successful,' wrote someone else. 'Simply wordplay', brand says In response to the criticism, White Glo began commenting on various creators' posts, apologising and insisting the ad was 'purely about teeth whitening, with no other intended meaning'. White Glo Director Jeffrey Wong told 'Over the course of the last few days, we have seen social media feedback and understand that our advertising campaign has offended many people. We profusely apologise. The last thing we intended was to offend the public or our White Glo consumers. 'The tagline 'Make the White Choice' is a simply wordplay on 'Make the Right Choice,' designed to highlight the effectiveness of our teeth whitening products. Our goal was to emphasise that consumers often feel disappointed when choosing ineffective whitening products, and we encourage them to make a better decision by selecting our brand.' In response to community feedback, he says they're now working to remove the ads. The brand also issued an apology statement on its Instagram. However, Ms Gupta believes these 'tired non-apologies' about 'not intending harm' completely miss the point, sidestepping responsibility rather than addressing the real impact of its decision. 'If you're in comms and you still don't know how messaging can carry harmful connotations, what are you actually doing?' she asked. Looking ahead, Ms Gupta says the solution to avoiding tone-deaf marketing campaigns isn't complicated – it's as simple as ensuring a genuine mix of perspectives at the decision-making table. 'Diversity in the room matters, like, really matters,' she said. 'If everyone approving your campaign looks the same, thinks the same, and doesn't challenge each other? This is what you get. A public-facing campaign that could've been fixed by one culturally literate person saying, 'Hey, that sounds off'.' Mr Wong insists that the brand has a 'very multicultural staff and management team'.
